Al Qaim detachment plays role in Iraq transition

May 24, 2007
By Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz
2nd Marine Logistics Group.

AL QAIM, Iraq - The Marines of Detachment 2, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), are working to provide for the stabilization of an increasingly self-sufficient Iraq.

The Marines of Detachment 2 supply 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment with the essential tools needed to accomplish this mission.

"We provide logistics to 1/4 and support the rest of our (area of operations)," said 2nd Lt. Aaron L. Serrano, the officer-in-charge of Detachment 2.

The detachment provides this region with transportation and heavy equipment support, postal services, fuel and water. They are also in charge of maintaining medical, exchange, and disbursing services here.

“We all pull our part around here,” said Cpl. Brandon J. Bergeron, an electrical equipment repair specialist with the detachment. “There is a need for every one of us.”

Bergeron, a Williamsburg, Va., native, was deployed here and to Al Asad in 2005 for a seven-month deployment and said their work seems to be paying off.

“There is a major difference,” he said. “We’re making tons of progress. It went from where it was a stronghold for terrorists to everyone being back to daily life and we barely get hit by (improvised explosive devices). It’s a lot calmer than last year.”

A watch clerk with the detachment, who is on his first deployment, said things have been easier than he expected. He said the methodic schedule of the Marines around him is one reason for this.

“I expected things to be a lot more hectic,” said Lance Cpl. Rafael Rivera, an Ocala, Fla., native. “The way they do things makes everything go so much smoother.”

Rivera said he wants to see his daughter in the states more than anything. But he, as well as many others with the detachment, extended his deployment time from seven months to a full year because of what he feels is the importance of their mission.

“I am out here doing this for her. So she has less to worry about,” he said. “So everyone in the states has less to worry about.”

Gerry P. Graham, works on hinges for a door his detachment will install in their building. The detachment is here for a seven-month deployment and is responsible for providing logistics support to 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Graham is a motor transportation mechanic here. Photo by: Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz.

German Navy Detachment Donates Vehicles

May 23, 2007
By U.S. Army Capt. Jerord E. Wilson
Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa.

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti - Though their unit may be low in numbers, the men and women of the German Naval Logistics Detachment are large in impact.

The German Naval Logistics Detachment in Djibouti supports many missions to the Djiboutian government and, in working with Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, integrates their capabilities to support the Global War on Terror.

“All vehicles being donated will be thoroughly inspected before being turned over to the local government”, said Commander Otto. The inspection will be carried out by the German Advisory Group who works here in Djibouti to assist the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Each German unit, that is stationed here, finds it a source of personal pride to help improve the quality of life for the Djiboutian people. One of the many tasks for the German advisory group is to assist in the training of the Djibouti Police to maintain cars and develop a radio network throughout Djibouti. The detachment also is equipped to provide water purification and decompression chamber services to coalition members located in the Djibouti region. Additionally, the unit provides logistic support to the German Navy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and acts as a liaison between the local government and forces located in Djibouti.

Another capability brought by the German detachment is a state of the art water purification system. The water purification system or ‘Water Buffalo”, provides a huge advantage to any unit located in areas where water must be purified before consumption. This particular water buffalo can produce up to 400 gallons of potable water every hour. Its mobility via air and land means that it can be taken to any water source, sea water or ground water, and convert undrinkable water into fresh water via a mono-filtration system.

Having a Naval coalition force in this region is very important to the overall capabilities of the forces assigned to OEF, said Commander Otto. A rarely used, but extremely important support capability, is a Navy diver on call 24 hours a day if needed for deep-sea search and rescue operations. The German detachment has a portable decompression chamber with an operator on call when needed. The chamber is available to anyone within the coalition for any diving-related emergency. It’s large enough to support one patient, one doctor, one assistant, and one operator.

In addition to emergency medical support to coalition forces, the German detachment provides morale opportunities for personnel rotating through the Port of Djibouti. The men and women assigned to the German detachment usually spend three to four months in Djibouti. This is time spent away from their families and homes as part of OEF. The ships docking at the pier in Djibouti stop to refit have only a few comforts before going back out to sea. So, morale services such as internet and phone connections are located at the pier to help families stay in contact during long deployments.

The German Naval Detachment has accomplished many great deeds in support of the coalition forces assigned to OEF and the country of Djibouti. The continued support towards the Djiboutian government demonstrates their support to the peoples of Djibouti and support in helping to build a stable economic structure for the future.

The mission of CJTF-HOA is to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interests in order to prevail against extremism. The CJTF-HOA organization began operations at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti May 13, 2003. It works with partner nations on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, consequence management, civic action programs to include medical and veterinary care, school and medical clinic construction and water development projects.

Photo - German Navy Logistic Detachment Cmdr. Hans-Jörg W. Otto and U.S. Navy Capt. Robert P. Wright, Director of Communications for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, tours the hyperbaric chamber with members of the Strategic Communications staff. Official U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Clinton C. Beaird.

Joint Task Force Showers Orphans With Supplies and Smiles

African babies, patients receive clothing, crutches, companionship.

By Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs.

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti, May 17, 2007 — An Army general and personnel from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa visited a local baby orphanage and hospital in Djibouti City, May 5, 2007, to donate 28 boxes of baby clothes and hospital equipment.

At the orphanage, Army Brig. Gen. Keith Thurgood, 337th Theater Support Command deputy commanding general, and the other military personnel held, fed and played with the 50 babies who live there.

The babies enjoy the attention, the nurses appreciate the help, and the HOA personnel enjoy being able to provide some tender loving care to even the littlest people of Djibouti.

“This is a great opportunity for us to take a break from our daily commitments and give a little bit of ourselves to the babies of the orphanage, whether it’s feeding, holding or simply making the little ones smile,” said CJTF-HOA Command Chief Master Sgt. John Harris.

And it’s the smiles on their small faces that keep Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Rivera proud to be a part of this mission.

“These children are great and they really enjoy it when we come by and spend some time with them,” he said. “They may not be able to tell us how grateful they are, but the smiles on their faces say it for them.”

According to Army Brig. Gen. Sanford Holman, CJTF-HOA deputy commander, the future impact of this small gesture could be enormous.

“The future of Djibouti is right in my arms,” he said. “How well we take care of Djibouti and its neighbors today will determine the future of this area.

“In 10-20 years, this gesture and the ones to follow will be remembered and they will know the U.S. cares about what happens to them,” said Holman.

And even though 10-20 years is a long way off, the caregivers at the orphanage are grateful today for the outpouring of generosity the U.S. military continues to show the orphanage.

“We are very thankful to the U.S. military for the amount of clothes they brought with them today,” said Delphine Cey, French nurse at the orphanage. “With so many children, we go through a lot of clothes, so it’s better to have too many clothes than not enough.”

Donating clothes to the orphanage wasn’t the only good deed of the day, the military members also donated some much-needed supplies to a local hospital. Some of the items donated were walkers, crutches and chair commodes.

“These items will help sustain their hospital and give patients exactly what they need to get back on their feet after an illness or injury,” said Army Master Sgt. Ethan Hughes, 377 Theater Security Cooperation’s Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center.

According to Army Lt. Col. Paul VanBreemen, Bravo Company, 489th Civil Affairs, the best part about doing good deeds is the message it sends to the community at large.

“Today we made a positive impact on the baby orphanage and hospital, but our gesture will soon spread throughout this community reminding the Djiboutians that as a military force we are doing positive things for this area,” he said. “Every donation we do, big or small, is one step closer to helping Africans help Africa.”

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is a unit of United States Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,800 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, Coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Photo Caption: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Rivera, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, has his hands full during a visit to a Djiboutian orphanage, May 5, 2007. Several military members brought boxes of clothing and medical equipment to the orphans. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Carrie Bernard.

Muthanna PRT under Iraqi control

14 May 2007
By Sgt. Chris Keller
U.S. Centcom Public Affairs.

ALI AIR BASE, Iraq - For the citizens in Muthanna Province, living in a secure province that has a government supporting them and their basic needs is all they’ve ever wanted.

Provincial Iraqi Control (PIC) of Muthanna was passed to the Iraqi government in July of 2006 and has been assisted by the Muthanna Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) since September.

Muthanna became the first Iraqi province to take the lead on governing its own province. This step allowed the provincial police and Iraqi Army to be the first responders’ to any crisis in the province. However, the PRT still helps the government in taking further steps to helping its people.

Phillip Egger, Muthanna team leader, has been with his five man crew since February. Egger says he knows that having a focus is essential to being successful in Muthanna.

“Our focus here is on expanding an existing government rather then building something from nothing. The more confidence the Iraqi people have in their government the more secure the province is going to be. If the people know where their money is being spent and know that it is coming from a central government in an effective manner, helps to promote a way forward for a province. The PRT can draw all of these different unrelated activities into a common thread.”

The PRT mission can be divided into two aspects. On one hand you have the “Brick and Mortor” aspect. This involves working with locals to build schools, roads and wells. While on the other hand, each team gathers experts in the fields of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Justice and Transportation to assist as liaisons to the local government.

Egger stresses that the PRT is not here to take control of the province, but to assist the people in setting up a governing body that can support its people.

“Our role is to over see a providence that is already governing itself. Their government is carrying out its day to day operations with little to no assistance. Our primary function is to move Muthana forward to enhance its day to day operations,” adds Egger.

Duty Team Leader Wade Weens has served on active duty with the Marines for seven years as a Civil Affairs Officer and brings his Civil Affairs expertise to the team. Wade says the process of rebuilding a country that has been run by a centralized government for centuries is some what of a challenge but it also has its rewards.

“Working in Iraq is full of challenges. It is just a challenge to move in and out of Muthanna to meet with officials. We could do more if we were able to travel more. However, we have made significant strides,” said Weens.

By the middle of June, Muthana province will have published its provincial budget followed by a provincial development strategy. This is a sector by sector plan on where the province plans to go in the next few years and what they need to accomplish to serve the needs of their people over the next three years. Muthanna is the second province in Iraq to accomplish this goal.

That goal, along with capacity development, will allow the government to support its people and their needs

“We encourage the governance to take steps to good governance practice. The essential building blocks for a good governance is the ability to plan, the ability to identify the needs of your citizens and then be able to develop a path from where you are and where you need to go. That is the process that we encourage the provincial governance to take,” adds Weens.

The PRT also encourages the publication of a budget so that all can know the allocation of the provincial money. The province is then rewarded for completing certain steps in the reconstruction process.

“We are something of an investor,” continued Weens. “We ask the government to implement certain basic reforms and publish a budget and the basic fundamental building blocks of governance. We then reward them by funding projects to help them rebuild. We involve Iraqis at every step. It has to be an Iraqi identified need and there should be Iraqi involvement at every step so the Iraqis feel invested in all we do.”

Although the PRT program falls under the Department of State for funding, it relies on the joint efforts of coalition forces to reach its ultimate goal of leaving a province that can support itself and its people, but the concept of working with coalition forces is unique to the Southern edge of Iraq.

“They (Australians) have “over watch” of the territory. They provide us our secure transportation in and out of the province, but more then that, they have been here for several years and they know the leadership of the province. Our coalition partners have worked with the Muthana province for a long time. We rely on them for their expertise advice about the province. We draw on their knowledge and they draw on our knowledge…It is very much a team effort,” said Weens.

As the governance take these steps, they become effective at taking care of their own people and providing for their own needs and that brings them one step closer to governing themselves.

The PRT and its coalition partners will continue their dedicated work to ensure that the people of Muthanna province are able to support and secure themselves for generations to come.

Egger adds that Provincial Iraqi Control is not an end state, but a starting point. It is a point of departure. “Our primary objective is to move Muthanna forward into its future. That is our mission.”

Photo: Australian and American Soldiers have tea with local Iraqis while on mission May 3. Muthanna's PRT conducted a on site visit and assenstment of a bridge project funded by the Australians. The teams’ thirteen approved projects for 2007 total $8.8 million. These projects include infrastructure, essential services and communications projects. Photo by Sgt Chris Keller.

National Recruiters Day May 19th

Eric Cooper is leading that effort through Gathering of Eagles. He is also involved with Soldiers' Angels.

Eric has asked Soldiers Angels to assist getting the word out-thus far there has been commitments from the following states:

AZ CA CO FL GA IA IN KY MD MI MN MO NC ND NJ NV NY OH OK PA SD TX VA VT

You may reach Eric Cooper through e-mail.

You may also reach him at the GOE site.

To get involved- please contact Eric and ask if a leader is set in place yet-- and if not- sign up!! and if there is a leader- contact them to assist with a game plan for the state.

Greetings! As announced by the Gathering of Eagles.

Chairman on 6 Apr, GOE is planning to recognize the critical contributions of America's military
recruiters.

Larry Bailey's directive follows:

"Our first nationwide project will be "Operation Recruiter Appreciation (ORA)." On May 19th, Armed Forces Day, Eagles will independently set up appreciation demonstrations outside undreds of military recruiting offices across the country. each effort will be planned and coordinated by local Eagles, and each effort will, accordingly, have its own "hometown" flavor."

So what do you need to do to take part in GOE Recruiter Appreciation Day? Use your imagination!

Below I have listed some suggestions, but that's all they are. I hope to see this thread become quite active as people come up with their own ideas of how to honor and thank our military recruiters.

Suggestions for ORA:

• Deliver a pizza and some sodas to the recruiter's office around lunchtime.
  
  
• Drop off some VIP movie passes you picked up from a nearby theater.
  
  
• Set up a table outside the office (after receiving permission) with some signs/banners advertising GOE and, more importantly, your efforts to honor the recruiters' service and sacrifice. Perhaps have some goodies and a card for passersby to sign, contributing their appreciation.
  
  
• Have your kids help you whip up some homemade cookies and/or brownies, and have the kids deliver them. Once the ice is broken, the kids and recruiters will definitely enjoy the visit. Trust me!
  
  
• Invite one or more of the recruiters to your home for dinner later in the week.
  
  
• Please don't let a limited budget prevent you from participating. A simple hand-made card from a child, or even a smile and a warm handshake won't cost anything but will lift some spirits and let our troops know you care.
  
  
• During your visit, get some of the recruiters to pose with you for a few photos, so that we can share in your visit here on the forum. (Please remember to get permission to use their mages/names)
  
  
• Take a homemade sign saying "Thank you!" or "God bless our military" along with a few friends and stand outside a local recruiter's office

You get the idea. We'll leave times flexible, but I would recommend around lunchtime in your areas. Not only is it easy to tie in with food and beverages, but hopefully the recruiters won't have to work too late on a Saturday. (I said "hopefully".)

We do ask that all participants try to connect their shows of support with Gathering of Eagles. It's a nice way for your particular recruiters to find out about our mission, and it will be the perfect excuse for you to share with them that others across our nation are conducting similar shows of support and appreciation.

If you can't afford to purchase a large GOE banner, consider buying and/or wearing a GOE armband instead. Or simply have a homemade sign and/or business cards with our name and website.

How do I locate a recruiter?

Find information on local U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard recruiters by entering your zip code here.

For an Army recruiter specifically, you may need to go to this location instead.

As always if you do not want to recieve these emails and want off of SA lists please send an
email with full name, email address, and State to help us know where to look and please send them to Soldiers' Angels alert team.

Part 1 is here. This is part 2. Please try to do whatever you can. It will be greatly appreciated. :)